Multiple national teams are coming to North Texas to compete for the FIFA World Cup this year.
Many of the 8 million Metroplex residents are from other parts of the world and that means the incoming teams already have fanbases on deck, eagerly waiting for them to arrive.
Games kick off June 11 in Mexico City, with the first of nine matches in Arlington slated for June 14.
Teams are coming in from countries like Argentina, Japan, Sweden, and Jordan.
At FC Dallas’ last home game in Frisco, some fans celebrated “Sweden Night.” They stood out in the crowd with bright yellow and blue scarves and their favorite players’ jerseys.
Sweden qualified for the World Cup at the last minute and fans are thrilled.
Joakim Soederbaum came to the FC Dallas game with his young sons. He’s looking forward to their first World Cup.
“I'm childishly excited to get to live it in my own backyard and take my boys with me," he said. "It will be like something you've never seen before. I know the Super Bowl is kind of a religious event in the U.S., but we're talking about a month-long carnival.”
Soederbaum has a local connection to soccer, too. Two decades ago, he was a goalkeeper for Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth. Now he’s an attorney based in Dallas.
Other Swedish fans emphasized the strong connection between their home country and the DFW area, particularly in business. They said thousands of Swedes will make their way here for the World Cup.
Patrik Melander is the Dallas chapter chairman of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit promoting business between the two countries.
He said the chamber is hosting a variety of World Cup events.
“We're arranging watch parties, and we're doing all sort of fan activities," Melander said. "I'm personally going to watch the game live. And I actually have friends flying in for that, so that's really nice.”
Melander said of the connection between his home country and the Metroplex, “Sweden is a country which has the same GDP as DFW. We only have roughly as many people…but we're the ninth largest investors into the U.S. and create a million jobs."
"I think we're punching well over our weight," he added.
After the FC Dallas game ended, fans got to meet one of the team’s Swedish players, Herman Johansson.
Johansson helped the Swedish national team qualify for the World Cup and will serve as a back-up to the 26-man squad. He's expected to feature in pre-tournament friendlies against Norway and Greece.
He signed autographs, posed for pictures and spoke to fans excited to see one of their own on the field.
While Karin Wink didn’t get tickets to the big event, she’s excited the Swedish team will be based in Frisco, which gives her family the chance to see them practice.
Wink said they’ll be watching the games regardless.
"We are signed up to make sure that we can stream their games and possibly throw some parties at home and invite some people over," Wink said. "Just make it kind of an event and spread the word, you know?”
Even though it was Sweden Night at the FC Dallas game, other international fans were there, gearing up for the World Cup.
Martin Kelman is optimistic about England's chances this year.
"We feel like this is the time," Kelman said. "Harry Kane is in the form of his life. This gentleman's going to lead the line."
But when it comes to event time, Kelman is thinking about more than just the games themselves.
He's putting together a new exhibition at the Frisco Heritage Museum. It's focused on soccer history from each of the teams coming to the Metroplex this summer.
"It's gonna take you through a journey right from 1880 when a gentleman first mentioned the word 'soccer' in England, right up to modern day with the likes of Sir David Beckham and people like that," he explained.
Kelman says the goal, no pun intended, is to teach visitors from all over the world about what he calls "the beautiful game."
Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org.
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